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Club News 2023
Ladies Christmas Lunch December 2023
Members of the club enjoyed a very delightful and colourful traditional Christmas lunch with their wives and partners. This was followed by an end of year speech from the Chairman, Douglas Hill. After the traditional toasts there was a generous raffle organized by David Davis. The meeting was enjoyed by all and the Chairman closed the meeting wishing everyone a great Christmas and a happy, healthy and peaceful new year.
Livery Companies - October 2023
Our speaker, Mike Beech, gave a talk about the Livery Companies of London. He described how, in the 12th Century in London, groups of traders formed associations which then became guilds and later Livery Companies where they became very powerful organizing trade and commerce. He took us through the historical events of these companies involving Samuel Pepys, Elizabeth 1st , the origin of the “Trademark” symbol and the setting up of the City & Guilds testing platform. Today there are more than 110 Livery Companies, some with their most ornate Meeting Halls. Mike described some of their bizarre races and events including the Swan Upping Ceremony that we see every year on our river. This very well researched presentation was thoroughly enjoyed by all members present.
Phrases and Sayings - September 2023
Our lady speaker, Calley Foster, explained her career background which included acting since the age of 5, teaching speech and drama, starting and managing a drama studio and involvement in communication and performance in a wide field of activity including training business employees.
Her subject for Probus was Phrases and Sayings and was light-hearted and sprinkled with both amusing and informative facts. Her ability to use different UK accents added colour and demonstrated her skill in communicating the meanings and nuances of the sayings. She included a quiz of phrases and sayings from the bible, Shakespear and the navy. The members were engaged with the quiz as she demonstrated how varied and expressive the English language had become. The origin of the sayings was explored with examples of their use, but doubt was cast on some due to the thinness of the evidence. This was a thoroughly amusing and entertaining talk enjoyed by the Probus members present.
So what amused the Victorians? - August 2023
Our guest speaker, Antony Wood, came to amuse us with So what amused the Victorians? He explained that his great- grandfather used to write down stories that were recounted over dinner parties in his common-place book and Antony had been writing stories and jokes in his own book ever since he was 18 years.
With a series of excellent visuals from PUNCH and other Victorian magazines he took us on a compendium of quotes, jokes, sayings, euphemisms and memories from that era where the upper-class dealings with their servants, excessive drunkenness and general level of poverty was a rich vein for jokes. Indeed, heckling in theatres was extremely common and, again, an excellent source. Indeed, many of these quotes are used in modern times and Antony quoted a wide range of people including Harold Wilson, Alan Bennett, John Betjeman, Chekov and Billy Connoly. This was a fascinating, well-researched and amusing review of life in our not-so-distant past and provided those present with a very entertaining afternoon.
Luncheon Quiz - July 2023
The Club organised an in-house quiz for 48 members in table teams of eight. With two sets of questions complied by David Davis and Chairman Doug Hill the head scratching and whispering of answers began.
Those present had additional motivation with the prospective prizes of lottery tickets for individual winners. In the event it was an very enjoyable and close-run result but, unfortunately, the celebrating winning table did, ultimately, find that they had not turned into instant, overnight multi-millionaires !!
Ladies Lunch - June 2023
Members and their partners enjoyed a delicious 3-course lunch organized by David and Lesley Davis. After the meal Chairman Douglas Hill gave a short resume of this year's events and a toast was raised to our new King, King Charles III. The lunch finished with a generous raffle. Everyone present said they had had a most enjoyable time on the longest day of the year.
Blessed are the Cheese Makers - May 2023
An intriguingly talk titled “Blessed are the Cheesemakers” was given by John Pearson, an international cheese judge and British Cheese Board Personality of the year.
Following thirty years in the food industry John amused his audience by describing some of his encounters with suppliers, impossible customers, and many faux pas’ events. His talk concluded with the tasting of unusual cheeses which finished the lunch off nicely. A good afternoon for all particularly knowing that the proceeds from the talk will go to John's friend, David Dowdy, who rears goats and runs apprenticeships for local people in Uganda.
Windsor Castle - April 2023
The speaker, Lesley Grout, who won Mastermind in 1981 with his knowledge of Windsor Castle a subject he now presented with a host of personal slides. Lesley then took his audience through the history from when the castle was built by William the Conqueror through all the rooms from the State Apartments through St.Georges Hall, the Royal Dairy, the kitchens and all the many exhibits including the musket ball that had killed Admiral Nelson at Trafalgar !!. This was an interesting talk in preparation for our next visit to Windsor Castle.
Lesley Grout showing slides of Windsor Castle and its decorative interior.
“The Accidental Actor” - March 2023
Members of the Club were entertained by a talk from Michael White. On taking early retirement as a Sales Director , Michael found himself at a a loose end and so enrolled at a local film extras agency with no acting experience other than singing in a local choir. He was amazed that he was contacted fairly quickly as he was told that he had the perfect face of a vagrant !! Michael's positive attitude took him along and he was soon on the acting treadmill. Michael’s talk took us on an hilarious tour of the 75 films in which he has appeared over the past 10 years including lying dead in a bus stop on the A40 when the local bus turned up to playing the doctor in Downton Abbey film. A most recent contact asked him to proceed to the B25 set at Pinewood Studios and he was shocked to find that this part was in the 25th Bond movie” A Time to Lie”!!!
The Curious Disappearance of Major Glen Miller in December1944 - January 2023
Tony Eaton showing pictures of Glen Miller
Tony Eaton enlightened the members on “The curious disappearance of Major Glenn Miller in December 1944” and, for the next hour, he captivated his audience with revelation upon revelation regarding this enduring mystery. He explained, that the renowned band leader enlisted himself into U.S. Army to entertain its troops in Europe where the H.Q was based in Wycombe Abbey Girls School where his band played several concerts. His immediate commanding officer was David Niven later to become an actor. As World War 2 progressed Glenn became more and more involved in the war and he began making propaganda broadcasts to the German people in perfect German. On December 15th 1944 he was due to take a military flight from the U.K. to Versailles for a meeting with army chief Dwight Eisenhower; but Glenn disappeared and never arrived. He was listed as missing.
Photo of Vera Lynn with Glen Millar on her left and David Niven on her right.
Following his disappearance there was much confusion and numerous accounts of whether he actually took the flight or even arrived and even explanations that Glenn was on a “death list” because of his radio propaganda work for the allies. The speaker further explained and showed evidence that, when the war finally ended, there was a series of cover-ups and denials that involved his wife, the U.S. Army and both Presidents Reagan and Eisenhower. Even though Glenn Miller's body was eventually recovered and buried in the America and that he was awarded a posthumous Bronze Star for bravery there has never been a satisfactory explanation of his disappearance and death. This was a fascinating talk, extensively researched and well-presented.
Ladies Christmas Lunch - December 2022
Our festive LADIES CRISTMAS LUNCH was held on Wednesday December 14th and attended by over 70 members and wives who enjoyed a colourful and traditional 3-course lunch, excellently organised once again by David and Lesley Davis. The meal was followed by a resume by Roger Gould, the current chairman, of the Probus year's events and toasts by his wife Janet to our continuing good health and, finally, with a generous raffle, giving all those present an excellent start to the festive season.
History of Isembard Kingdom Brunel - November 2022
Professor Dave Perrett gave us an illuminating talk on ISEMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL Isembard. Isembard Brunel was born in Portsmouth in 1806 and qualified as a civil engineer He first worked for his father Sir Marc Isembard Brunel, as engineer-in-charge, on the Thames Tunnel. Dave took us on a tour de force of the life and works of Brunel from his work as chief engineer with Great Western Railways, building lines from London to Bristol and beyond to Cornwall. He built the Maidenhead railway bridge in 1839 and later, Paddington Station in 1854. With an array of photos and slides Dave showed Brunel's work on the Rotherhithe Tunnel in London, the Crystal Palace in 1851 and, of course, the building of three great SS Paddle Steamers in Bristol .Interestingly, although renowned and remembered for the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, Brunel began and stopped work on this in 1830 and it was not completed finally until 1864 – 6 years after his death.